defection from virtue, became very cheerless. The son of the chief of the
celestials became filled with remorse and breathing heavily, drew his
sword. Seeing this, Krishna asked him, "What is this? Why dost thou again
unsheathe thy sword blue as the sky? Tell me what thy answer is, for then
I shall give thee counsel for the gratification of thy object." Thus
addressed by that foremost of men, Arjuna, in great sorrow answered
Keshava, saying, "I shall, putting forth my strength, slay my own self by
whom this wicked act hath been done." Hearing those words of Partha,
Keshava, that foremost of all righteous persons said this unto
Dhananjaya, "Having said these words unto the king, why hast thou become
so cheerless? O slayer of foes, thou desirest now to destroy thy own
self. This, however, Kiritin, is not approved by the righteous. If, O
hero among men, thou hadst today, from fear of sin, slain this thy eldest
brother of virtuous soul, what would then have been thy condition and
what wouldst thou not then have done? Morality is subtle, O Bharata, and
unknowable, especially by those that are ignorant. Listen to me as I
preach to thee. By destroying thy own self, thou wouldst sink into a more
terrible hell than if thou hadst slain thy brother. Declare now, in
words, thy own merit. Thou shalt then, O Partha, have slain thy own
self." Applauding these words and saying, "Let it be so, O Krishna,"
Dhananjaya, the son of Sakra, lowering his bow, said unto Yudhishthira,
that foremost of virtuous persons, "Listen, O king, there is no other
bowman, O ruler of men, like unto myself, except the deity that bears
Pinaka; I am regarded by even that illustrious deity. In a moment I can
destroy this universe of mobile and immobile creatures. It was I, O king,
that vanquished all the points of the compass with all the kings ruling
there, and brought all to thy subjection. The Rajasuya (performed by
thee), brought to completion by gift of Dakshina, and the celestial
palace owned by thee, were both due to my prowess. In my hands are (marks
of) sharp shafts and a stringed bow with arrow fixed thereon. On both my
soles are the signs of cars with standards. No one can vanquish a person
like me in battle. Nations from the North, the West, the East and the
South, have been struck down, slain, exterminated and destroyed. A small
remnant only of the samsaptakas is alive. I alone have slain half of the
entire (hostile) army. Slaughtered by me, the Bhar